Wizards Report February 5

Posted on February 05, 2013
by Dave Johnson

By
Dave Johnson

When
the Washington Wizards allowed the Los Angeles Clippers to go on a15-2 run in
the third quarter there was reason to doubt the home team. When the Wizards scored 14 points off eight
Clippers’ turnovers in the fourth quarter there was reason for the home fans to
celebrate a 98-90 win.

The
Wizards prevailed through the rough spots by sharing the ball and turning to
their defense. Martell Webster led
five Wizards in double figures with 21 points on a night when the team finished
with 27 assists. On defense the Wizards had 11 steals and forced the Clippers
into 20 turnovers that led to 24 Wizards points.

Randy Wittman:

“It
wasn’t the prettiest but we’ll take it, definitely. Coming back off the
road, I thought this was an important game for us to get to start this three
game home stand here before the break. It wasn’t all artistic for us. We
still had ups and downs from an offensive standpoint when we just stopped
passing, dribbled, no movement. You get in trouble with that. We got to
continue to work on that, learn from that. The first half I thought we
moved it really good, 51 against this team, I think they are fourth in the
league in total defense.”

After
scoring 51 points in the first half, the Wizards stumbled in the third quarter
when they lost a 12-point lead. The Clippers 15-2 run allowed them to take a
61-60 lead with 5:23 left in the third quarter. It was the Clippers first lead
since early in the first quarter at 7-6. To the Wizards credit they closed the
quarter on a 12-5 run to take a six-point lead into the fourth quarter.

The
Wizards can empathize with the Clippers. The Wizards are still dealing with
injuries as Bradley Beal remained
sidelined for a third consecutive game with a sore right wrist. As expected the
Clippers played their eighth straight game without Chris Paul because of a sore right kneecap and right before tip-off
Blake Griffin was scratched because
of a hamstring injury.

The Wizards way:

The
Wizards do not have a dominate scorer. There is not one player that can carry
this team. Several players have to be involved in the scoring. To go with Webster’s 21 points, Nene and Garrett Temple each had 15
points. Temple’s offensive
production was an added bonus for a player known more for his defense. John Wall had 13 points and 8 assists,
and Trevor Ariza added 10 points and
6 rebounds. Ariza’s work on defense
was also critical in the win.

Solid as an oak:

Emeka Okafor was one point
away from a double-double. Okafor finished
with 9 points and 14 rebounds and his work on the boards helped the Wizards to
a 21-8 advantage in second chance points.

Final word from
Martell Webster:

“It’s
unfortunate that teams have injuries, but that happens and we as a team still
have to take care of business. Everyone contributed offensively and
defensively, this was a team effort. This is a game of runs, it’s tough to be
perfect for 48 minutes and with an explosive team like the Clippers it made it
harder. Tonight as a team we carried out our assignment and kept the defensive
mindset throughout the game. Ultimately we were able to regain control of the
game and never let them take control.”